Variety of Assessment Methods, Tools and Tasks

Assessment methods can be classified as traditional and authentic assessment.

Traditional assessment method - refers to the usual paper-and-pencil test.
It is a simple approach that generally utilizes a pen and paper or computer-based
examination method which constitutes a similar pattern of question.
ADVANTAGE
• The teacher gets a preview of a student’s knowledge conveniently.
• It also helps educators or teachers to compare the performances of different students.
• This approach is overall more simple, straightforward and time-saving. • Students develop
their retaining and understanding capabilities
DISADVANTAGE
• It limits a student’s potential and does allow out of the box thinking. • Students get limited
options.
• Students do not develop extensive comprehensive skills.
• It is a more theory-based approach which may sometimes not promote a healthy learning and
inclusive atmosphere.
Authentic assessment - refers to non-paper-and-pencil test and it is also called alternative
assessment.
Evaluates whether the student can successfully transfer the knowledge and skills
gained in the classroom to various contexts, scenarios, and situations.
ADVANTAGE
• Alternative Assessment aids in measuring the proficiency of the student based on their
analytical, reasoning and logical thinking skills.
• It helps in recognizing a student’s unique set of abilities.
• It evaluates a student’s problem-solving skills and helps in real-life application of the
knowledge
• It develops extensive levels of cognitive skills in the students.
DISADVANTAGE

 The process becomes rigorous for the teachers as it is harder to evaluate. Teachers
have to put in more efforts in understanding a student’s work.
 More efforts demand more time. Hence this method is highly time-consuming.
 Sometimes it may lead to misunderstanding and unfairness.
 It is far less economical, as practical applications and project work demand a lot of
resources and investment.
Variety of Assessment Methods, Tools and Tasks
Examples of the paper-and-pencil tests
Selected-response
Items (also referred to as objective assessments) includes options such as multiple
choice, matching type, and alternate response. This question types can be very effective
and efficient methods for measuring student knowledge and reasoning.
• Alternate response (TRUE OR FALSE, YES OR NO, / OR X)
• Matching type
• Multiple Choice
Constructed-response
Can be defined as an assessment task that requires students to apply their knowledge
and critical thinking skills to real-world problems. Often called open-ended questions,
they require the student to construct and develop their own answer without the help of
other suggestions or choices.
• Completion (FILL-IN-THE-BLANKS)
• Essay test
• Problem solving
Example of authentic assessment
Product
product oriented assessment is a kind of assessment where in the assessor views and
scores the final product made and not on the actual performance of making that product.
• Report
• Research project
• Reviews
Performance
Performance-based assessment requires students to demonstrate or apply their
knowledge, skills, and strategies by creating a response or product or doing a task.
• Executing steps of a dance
• Delivering a keynote speech
• Opening a computer
PORTFOLIO AND TYPES OF PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT
PORTFOLIO
Portfolio falls under non-paper-and pencil test. A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student
work or documented performance (e.g. video of dance) that tells the story of student
achievement or growth. The word purposeful implies that a portfolio is not a collection of all
student's work. It is not just a receptacle for all student's work. The student's work that is
collected depends on the type and purpose of a portfolio you want to have. It can be a collection
of products or recorded performances or photos of performances.
A collection of artifacts accompanied by a reflective narrative that not only helps the learner to
understand and extend learning, but invites the reader of the portfolio to gain insight about
learning and the learner (Porter & Cleland, 1995)
PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT
Portfolio assessments are not a type of assessment item, but rather a compilation of student
work. Portfolio assessments ask students or teachers to collect work products that show growth
over a specific period of time. Examples of work products include collections of student essays,
artwork, lab reports or reading logs. We use scoring guides and rubrics to score portfolios.
BENEFITS OF PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT
Portfolio assessments offer several benefits. First and foremost, portfolios are a rich source of
information about tudent learning. Unike stand-alone assessments, portfolins are composed of
multiple artifacts, which can paint a full picture of what students know and can do
Second, portfolios are versatile. You can use them to measure almost any content area or skill,
in contrast to assessment items that are more granular and focused, portfolio assessments can
contain a wide variety of student wa to demonstrate mastery of a particular standard. These
work products can include essays, lab reports, reading logs, photograph, journal entries,
presentation, copies of assessments, conference notes from teachers and many other types of
materials.
Third, portfolio assessments can bule students self-confidence and "self-appraisal skills through
the opportunity they prcdde for students to refer on and celebrate their accomplishments
Working portfolios can be helpful resources during parent-teacher conferences. Showcase
portfolios can help students prepare for real-world careers. For example, photographers,
joumalists and graphic designers typically maintain a portfolio of ther strengest pieces to show
potential employers
Portfolio assessments come with challenges Like performance tasks, portfolio assessments can
be time consuming to design and score in a consistent and unbiased manner They also involve
a great deal of agetical planning and organization
Types of Portfolio
Portfolios can be classified according to purpose. According to purpose, portfolios can be
classified either as 1) working portfolios, 2) display portfolios, or 3) assessment portfolios.
(Introduction to Using Portfolios in the Classroom by Charlotte Danielson and LeslyeAbrutyn)
1. Working Portfolio
A working portfolio is so named because it is a project "in the works," containing work in
progress as well as finished samples of work. A growth portfolio demonstrates an individual's
development and growth over time. Development can be focused on academic or thinking skills,
content knowledge, self-knowledge, or any area that is important for your purposes. For this
reason, it is also called development portfolio. Growth or development portfolio can serve as a
holding tank for work that may be selected later for a more permanent assessment or display
port- folio. (Charlotte Danielson and Leslye Abrutyn)
Instructional or working portfolios are formative in nature. They allow a student to demonstrate
his or her ability to perform a particular skill.
2. Display, Showcase, or Best Works Portfolios
It is the display of the students' best work. Students exhibit their best work and interpret its
meaning. Showcase portfolio demonstrates the highest level of achievement attained by the
student.
3. Showcase Portfolio are summative in nature.
Assessment or Evaluation Portfolio As the name implies, the main function of an as- sessment
portfolio is to document what a student has learned based on standards and competencies
expected of students at each grade level. The standards and competencies of the curriculum,
then, will determine what students select for their portfolios. Their reflective comments will focus
on the extent to which they believe the portfolio entries demonstrate their mastery of the
standards and competencies.

Types of Objective Test

We are concerned with developing objectives tests for assessing the attainment of educational
objectives based on Bloom’s Taxonomy in this chapter. For this purpose, we restrict our
attention to the following types of paper-and-pencil tests:
a. True-False Items
b. Multiple-Choice Types Item
c. Matching Items
d. Enumeration
e. Completion
Development of paper-and-pencil test requires careful planning and expertise in terms of actual
test construction. The more seasoned teachers can produce true-false item that can be test
even higher order thinking skills and not just rate memory learning. Essays are easier to
construct that the other type of objectives test but the difficulty with the paper-and-pencil test
grade are derived from essay examinations often discourage teachers from using this particular
form of examination in actual practice.
  Is an efficient tool that allows you to objectively measure student performance on an
assessment activity

What is Rubric?

 A rubric is a typically an evaluation tool or set of guidelines used to promote the

consistent application of learning expectations, learning objectives, or learning standards
in the classroom , or to measure their attainment against a consistent set of criteria
(EdGlossary, 2013)
 The main purpose of rubrics is to asses performance made evident in process and
problems.

Rubrics have two major parts: coherent sets of criteria and descriptions of levels of
performance for these criteria. (Brookhart, Susan. 2013. How to create and use
rubrics)

There are two types of rubrics

1. Analytic Rubric – each criterion (dimension, trait) is evaluated separately.
2. Holistic Rubric – all criteria (dimension, trait) are evaluated simultaneously

Need to remember in making a rubric:

1. Determine learning outcomes
2. Decide on the structure of the rubrics
3. Identify levels of performance or aspects of the product that reflect the learning
outcomes
4. Weigh the dimension in proportion the importance and determine the range of points to
be allocated to each level performance
5. Rubrics are usually shared with learners

ASSESSTMENT METHODS AND MULTIPLE INETELLIGENCES

Learners have multiple intelligences and varied learning styles. Students must be given the
opportunity to demonstrate learning that is aligned to their multiple intellegences and to their
learning styles.

(From an article by Linda Campbell in Educational Leadership)

 o Linguistic
o Logical
o Bodily
o Visual
o Musical
o Interpersonal
o Intrapersonal
o Naturalist

Planning a Test and Consruction of Specification TOS

The important steps in planning for a test:

o Identfying test objectives/lesson outcomes

o Deciding on the type of objective test to be prepared
o Preparing a Table of Specification (TOS)
o Constructing the draft test item
o Try-out and validation

Identifying Test Objectives

An objective test, it it is to be comprehensive, must cover the various levels of Blooms

taxonomy.

Knowledge/Remembering – The students must be able to identify the subject and the verb in
a given sentence.

Comprehension/Undertanding – The students must be able to determine the appropriate form

of a verb to be used given the subject of the sentence.

Application/Applying – The students must be able to write sentences observing rules on

subject-verb agreement.

Analysis/Analyzing – The students must be able to brak down a given sentence into its subject
and predicate.

Evaluation/Evaluating – The students must be able to evaluate wether or not a sentence

observe rules on subject-verb agreement.

Synthesizing/Creating – The students must be able to formulate rules to be followed regarding

subject-vrb agreement.

Deciding on the Type of Objective Test

- The test objectives guide the kind of objective test that will be designed and constructed
by the teacher.
Preparing a Table of Specification (TOS)

- A Table of Specification or TOS is a test map that guides the teacher in constructing a
test. The simplest TOS consists of four columns:
a. Level of objective to be tested
b. Statement of objective
c. Item numbers where such an objective is being tested
d. Number of items and percentage out of the total for the particular objective.

Constructing the Test Items

- The actual constructionof the test items follows the TOS.

Items Analysis and Try-out

- The test draft is tried out to a group of pupils or students. The purpose of this try-out is to
determine the:
a. Item characteristics through item analysis.
b. Characteristics of the test itself-validity, reliability, and practicality.

CONSTRUCTING A TRUE-FALSE TEST AND MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST

Constructing a True- False Test

Binomial-choice or alternate response tests are tests that have only two (2) options such as
true or false, right and wrong, yes or no or better, check ( / ) or cross out ( x ) and so on.
A modified true-false test can offset the effect of guessing by requiring students to explain
their answer and to disregard a correct answer if the explanation is incorrect.
Here are some rules of thumb in constructing true-false items.
Rule 1. Do not give a hint (inadvertently) in the body of the question.
Rule 2. Avoid using the words “always”, “never”, “often” and other words that tend to be either
always true or always false.
Rule 3. Avoid long sentences as these tend to be “true” Keep sentences short.
Rule 4. Avoid trick statements with some minor misleading word or spelling anomaly, misplaced
phrases, etc. A wise student who does not know the subject matter may detect this strategy and
thus get the answer correctly.
Rule 5. Avoid quoting verbatim from reference materials or textbooks. This practice sends the
wrong signal to the students that it is necessary to memorize the textbook word for word and
thus, acquisition of higher level thinking skills is not given due importance.
Rule 6. Avoid specific determines or give-away qualifiers. Students quickly learn that strongly
worded statements are more likely to be false than true, for example, statements with “never”
“no” “all” or “always.” Moderately worded statements that are more likely to be true than false.
Statements that are moderately worded use “many” “often” “sometimes” “generally” “frequently”
or “some” usually should be a avoided, e.g. executives usually suffer from hyperacidity. The
statement tends to be correct. The word “usually” leads to the answer.
Rule 7. With the true or false questions, avoid a grossly disproportionate number of either true
or false statements or even patterns in the occurrence of true or false statements.
Multiple Choice Tests
The Multiple choice type of test offers the students with more than two (2) options per items to
choose from. Each item in a multiple choice tests consists of two parts: (a) the stem, and (b) the
options. In the set of options, there is a “correct” or “best” option while all the others are
considered “distracters”. The distracters are chosen in such a way that they are attractive to
those who do not know the answer or are guessing but at the same time, have no appeal to
those who actually know the answer.

Guidelines in constructing Multiple Choice Items

1. Do not use unfamiliar words, terms and phrases. The ability of the items to discriminate or its
level of difficulty should stem from the subject matter rather than from the wording of the
question.
2. Do not use modifiers that are vague and whose meanings can differ from one person to the
next such as: much, often, usually, etc.
3. Avoid complex or awkward word arrangements. Also, avoid use of negatives in the stem as
this may add unnecessary comprehension difficulties.
4. Do not use negatives or double negatives as such statements tend to be confusing. It is best
to use simpler sentences rather than sentences that would require expertise in grammatical
construction.
5. Each items stem should be as short as possible; otherwise you risk testing more for reading
and comprehension skills.
6. Distracters should be equally plausible ad attractive.
7. All multiple choice options should be grammatically consistent with the stem.
8. The length, explicitness, or degree of technically of alternatives should not be the
determinants of the correctness of the answer.
9. Avoid stems that reveal the answer to another item.
10. Avoid alternatives that are synonymous with others or those that, include or overlap others.
11. Avoid presenting sequenced items in the same order as in the text.
12. Avoid the use of assumed qualifiers that may examines may not be aware of.
13. Avoid use of unnecessary words or phrases, which are not relevant to the problem at hand
(unless such discriminating ability is the primary intent of the evaluation). The items value is
particularly damaged if the unnecessary material is designed to distract or mislead. Such items
test the student’s reading comprehension rather than knowledge of the subject matter.
14. Avoid use of non-relevant sources of difficulty such as requiring a complex calculation when
only knowledge of a principle is being tested.
15. Pact the question in the stem.
16. Use the ”None of the above” option only when the keyed answer is totally correct. When
choice of the ”best” response is intended, “none of the above” is not appropriate, since the
implication has already been made that the correct response may be partially inaccurate.
17. Note that use of “all of the above” may allow credit for partial knowledge. In a multiple option
item, (allowing only one option choice) if a student only knew the two (2) options were correct,
he could then deduce the correctness of ”all of the above”. This assumes you are allowed only
one correct choice.
18. Better still use “none of the above” and “all of the above” sparingly. But best not to use them
at all.
19. Having compound response choices may purposefully increase difficulty of an item.